The Spring/ Summer 2013 shows in the Capital are now put to rest. At the recently concluded Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) in New Delhi, with most of the seniors deciding to do business from stalls instead of opting for ramp presentations — and with shows starting at 2 p.m. instead of noon — the younger lot had better slots. Trends a few seasons old continue to remain in circulation — one’s seen too many jumpsuits and peplums and hopes they’re now given a rest. Collections that stood out include those of Payal Pratap, Atsu, Samant Chauhan, James Ferreira, Divyam Mehta, Namrata Joshipura, Pero and Shivan & Narresh. Certain common elements emerged across shows — monochrome at am:pm, Gauri & Nainika, Kallol Datta 1955, Rahul Mishra and Namrata Joshipura, reinterpreted Ikat at Pia Pauro, Anupamaa by Anupama Dayal and Rimzim Dadu (who used plastic sequins to get an abstract pattern); 3D surfaces were seen at Anand Bhushan, Alpana Neeraj, and ‘my village’ by Rimzim Dadu; comic book themes at Namrata Joshipura (Gotham City’s woman was the muse here) and Anand Bhushan (‘Hero’ took off from Superman), and florals at Manish Gupta, Rimzim Dadu at Nachiket Barve. While Nida Mahmood continued her neon-led kitsch with “Sapna Cinema”, a much welcome collection came from James Ferreira, who used hand paintings by textile artist Bhamini Subramaniam to send out a line that brought in cherubs and Ganesha in a delicate palette of white.
